Scholarships and studentships

Find a scholarship

Use our Scholarship Finder to find the right funding for you. Scholarships and
bursaries are available to support talented students, ensuring we remain
accessible to all with the potential to succeed, regardless of your financial circumstances.

We offer many funding opportunities to support talented postgraduates, including research council funded studentships. Funding for postgraduate study is highly competitive so it's important
that you fully research the options available to you.

The tuition fee loans,
maintenance grants and student loans for UK undergraduates do not apply to
postgraduates, so you may need to explore a wide range of options to fund
further studies. Before you begin your postgraduate studies it's important to make sure you have enough money to cover all your academic
fees and living expenses.

Our postgraduate scholarships

In this video our postgraduate students from across the UK and around the world to speak about the scholarships they have secured and how this support has helped them continue their studies.

University of Essex Social Sciences Doctoral Scholarships

Our University of Essex Social Sciences Doctoral Scholarships support talented PhD
students to study at the University. These awards are available to students
who can demonstrate an excellent academic background and the potential for
future achievement, as well as financial need. They are awarded for each
year of study during the standard minimum period of enrolment for your
degree, subject to satisfactory progress.

Essex Silberrad scholarships

Our Essex Silberrad scholarships are awarded
to research students classified as Home/EU
fee status at the point of admission, who already hold a University of Essex
degree (either undergraduate or postgraduate). The scholarships
are awarded per annum and the amount will cover all your tuition fees and
approximately 50% of average living costs per year of study.

Postgraduate Support Scheme for Masters students

We offer two novel programmes to support our Masters students through our Postgraduate Support Scheme.
Mentoring for Progression offers scholarships in return for you acting as a mentor to final-year undergraduates. With our Knowledge
Exchange Traineeships you can undertake a six month project which includes a three month paid placement with an employer.

Other funding for UK and EU students

Professional and Career Development Loans (PCDLs)

NHS funding

There is support for tuition fees and UK students may apply for bursaries for living costs if you
are on our postgraduate pre-registration health professional training
courses offered by our School of Health and Human Sciences. Eligible courses
are MSc Nursing (Adult), MSc Nursing (Mental Health), MSc Occupational
Therapy, MSc Physiotherapy and MSc Speech and Language Therapy. These
courses are
only open to UK and EU residents and, if you receive an offer of a place on
these courses, you will receive information on the funding arrangements and
how to apply for support.

Charitable trusts and grants

Information about charities and trusts that offer awards and sponsorship,
and their application procedures, can be found in the Educational Grants
Directory and The Grants Register. Copies are available in our Albert Sloman Library and
most public libraries. The Educational Grants Advisory Service (EGAS) holds
a database of organisations offering educational grants and loans to
individuals eligibility to lenders, in accordance with federal regulations.

Private sponsorship

Some companies sponsor their employees in certain study areas. Companies
tend to favour degrees of value to their business objectives, which benefit
the employee’s career development within the organisation. Usually any
financial assistance offered by a company will be accompanied by a
commitment to continued employment.

PhD scholarships at Essex: Jacek

In this video Jacek, a student from our Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, talks about the financial support he was given, from the University of Essex, after submitting a PhD proposal. The scholarship he was awarded helped him secure a Doctoral degree in Psychoanalytic Studies.

PG funding

We offer scholarships and bursaries to support talented postgraduates, ranging from
research council studentships and University of Essex scholarships to awards
funded by charities and other external organisations.

International students

We provide comprehensive information to our international students. With over 130 different countries
represented, Essex is one of the UK’s most internationally diverse campus universities and known worldwide for its
academic excellence.

Open days

Book a place at one of our open days to see for yourself what we offer.
Academic and support staff will be available to answer your questions,
while a campus tour with our current students allows you to view our
facilities and accommodation.

Find a scholarship

Use our Scholarship Finder to find the right funding for you. Scholarships and
bursaries are available to support talented students, ensuring we remain
accessible to all with the potential to succeed, regardless of your financial circumstances.